8 N. C. AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



land which now grows reeds and other coarse herbage can be restored to 

 profitable tillage by the use of sheep. Fortunately the sheep is a rumi- 

 nating animal and with the compound stomach can make use of much of 

 the coarse grass and weeds which thrive on these depleted soils. In 

 European countries where sheep raising is carried on extensively and 

 usually profitably very little concentrated feed is used, except through the 

 flushing and lambing season. During other periods hay, grass and roots 

 form their mainstay. Any farmer who is willing to give to sheep the 

 same amount of intelligent care that he gives to other livestock will 

 find them not only profitable, but good soil improvers, bringing into 

 cultivation large areas of otherwise waste land. 



Important Breeds of Sheep. 



Breeds of sheep are very numerous, these being adapted to a wide 

 range of conditions, including the mountains, plateaus, and lowlands, 

 with their varying degrees of moisture, temperature, and pasture con- 

 ditions. The writer will only make mention of the types and important 

 breeds giving a brief note regarding their adaptation. The following 

 outline embraces these breeds showing their classification on a basis of 

 wool and mutton types. 



1. Fine Wool Type- 

 Wool Production. 



American Merino. 

 Delaine Merino. 

 Kambouillet. 



2. Medium Wool Type 

 Mutton Production. 



Shropshire. 



Southdown. 



Hampshire. 



Oxford. 



Suffolk. 



Dorset Horn. 



Cheviot. 



Tunis. 



3. Long or Coarse Wool Type 

 Mutton Production. 



Lincoln. 



Leicester. 



Cotswold. 



Kent or Romney Marsh. 



While there are a few other breeds of sheep gaining greatly in favor 

 in this country the classification just given embraces those now most 

 universally accepted to be of standard type. 



The fine wool type is used largely on the range for foundation flocks 

 for lamb and mutton production and in those countries where fine wool 

 growing is made a specialty, notably in Australia. 



The medium wool class represents the average in length and fineness 

 of wool, and is the type used largely for mutton production on arable 



